[mamaskoby]

To add to my stressors I was at the Halloween Parade today and found out my son's teacher had swine flu this week. She confirmed it for me! Said because she had been sick since last THursday and kept feeling better and relapsing her Dr. told her she had swine flu. And he said he also knew it was swine because the normal flu is nowhere out in our area yet.!!!
Worst part is she was at school 1/2 the week. I saw her on Wed. and knew she was soooo sick.
THe school is not even acknowleding it. Can you believe they aren't sending home flyers or anything? You would think they would be decontaminating the classroom! I am sooooo mad because she should have known better than to come back to school and possible get 2nd graders sick! you know??? Isn't that common sense?

[shelbyintx]

She was probaby there because she most likely caught the flu from one of the students in the class, so the kids have already been exposed. Also, teachers are given very few sick days, then their already small paycheck gets docked for the days they miss.

[gabriella_heart]

I am a teacher and in a situation like swine flu hitting children the hardest more measures should have been taken. Sick days or not, this could be life or death to a young child. People need to start taking responsibility. I agree very careless and dangerous on the teacher's part and the school for not telling parents.

[Tammy2005]

Originally Posted by mamaskoby

To add to my stressors I was at the Halloween Parade today and found out my son's teacher had swine flu this week. She confirmed it for me! Said because she had been sick since last THursday and kept feeling better and relapsing her Dr. told her she had swine flu. And he said he also knew it was swine because the normal flu is nowhere out in our area yet.!!!
Worst part is she was at school 1/2 the week. I saw her on Wed. and knew she was soooo sick.
THe school is not even acknowleding it. Can you believe they aren't sending home flyers or anything? You would think they would be decontaminating the classroom! I am sooooo mad because she should have known better than to come back to school and possible get 2nd graders sick! you know??? Isn't that common sense?

Just wondering, was she checked for swine flu or does the Dr just assume she has it? I do agree with you though, she never should of been at school once she knew she was sick. Tammy

[mamaskoby]

No she was not tested, her Dr told her since the regular flu is not in our area and she had all the classic symptons that it was the swine.

[amyfk]

I hope your child's teacher feels better and I can believe you are worried for your child and the others in the class.
How negligent that the school hasnt informed the families about the teacher?!? My child is in a private preschool(not a public school) and as soon as they found out, they sent home a notice to all parents and staff about the afflicted child. They also immediately scrubbed down the school.
I bet someone will blow the horn on this one. If not done so the school principal deserves to be called to task on this one. Young children are the most afflicted by the swine flu and especially folks with immune compromised systems. This school could be setting themselves up for big trouble! How irresponsible!
Amy K, NJ

[michelemk]

We actually had a situation recently where we received a phone call because a teacher in our son's school tested positive for H1N1. My reaction was that it was absolutely not necessary for the entire school to be called because of one teacher. Perhaps the class, but not the whole school. We are in an area where many, many people have had H1N1, so (as a health care professional), hearing that a teacher in my son's school had H1N1 was not a shocker.
Letting everyone know when a teacher has been sick and what they are sick with is a very tough situation. Are we going to start sending notices out any time a teacher is diagnosed with an illness?
I don't know your situation, but there have been a lot of confirmed cases of H1N1 in people who haven't had the typical symptoms---high fever, respiratory issues & vomiting/diarrhea. As a substitute school nurse I've had to struggle with whether to send kids home from school or not...the old rule of "fever over 100 degrees" just doesn't seem to apply anymore. A friend's child just had a confirmed nose swab of H1N1 and NEVER had a fever over 99.4.
I could see how it is possible that your child's teacher didn't think that she had H1N1...especially if she was getting better. Typical influenza and typical H1N1 involves a very high fever for a period of up to 5-7 days. She may have thought she had a common cold and felt she could continue teaching.
I'm sure the school custodians ARE disinfecting the school and that there are procedures in place to try to keep everyone as healthy as possible. This would be a good question to ask your principal.
Michele

[JustBarbara]

I'm sorry she has the H1N1 flu but as others have posted - if you get what you think is the flu, then feel better after a few days but THEN get symptoms again then most likely is is the H1N1. And, most likely, it was transmitted, carried by one of her students. I don't know of any teachers who would purposely expose their students. And, yes, teachers get v limited sick days. At my work they have encouraged people who have flu-like symptoms to stay home and can go negative on their sick bank.

[avoel]

It would also be a HIPPAA violation for your school to tell parents specifically that your son's teacher has H1N1 flu. They can tell you that a teacher has a confirmed case, or that there was a confirmed case in the school, but they cannot tell you specifically who the affected person is. That is a violation of privacy.

And, with widespread H1N1 activity in 48 states, I agree that if your school only has A confirmed case, you are definitely in the minority. In my community for the past several weeks (since mid September) it has been at a constant 10-20% absentee rate in most schools. I would personally just assume it is in your school (and church and grocery store) at all times right now.

[SKL]

Personally, I would prefer that the teacher come to school if she feels well enough to teach. I am not an H1N1 expert, but it sounds to me like the really dangerous cases are few and far between. In addition, the teacher probably caught it from a child who has already generously shared his germs with every other child the teacher has contact with. By the time she knew she was sick, it would have been too late to prevent the other kids from being exposed. I think that people whose kids are immunity compromised should consider finding a non-group-care alternative until they are fully immunized against H1N1. Meanwhile, the rest of the children of working parents need someplace to go.

[sak9645]

Swine flu is just like seasonal flu, except that, while seasonal flu is more debilitating to elderly people, swine flu tends to hit children and non-elderly adults harder. There is no need to do any special notification or decontamination for swine flu, just as there is no need to do any special notification or decontamination for seasonal flu.

People should use the normal precautions to avoid illness -- frequent handwashing, for example. Keeping the immune system strong is a good idea -- for example, by getting enough rest and eating healthy foods. If the vaccine is available to them -- and some areas have enough vaccine only for certain high risk groups -- kids and adults should get immunized. People who have particularly high risk, such as those with HIV, organ transplants, cancer, and so on, should consult their doctors about preventive and treatment measures.

The school can inform parents that there is H1N1 going around, and recommend prevention strategies. It can also remind parents to keep kids at home if they have fever or feel too sick to do their best; perfect attendance is NOT something to be praised in such a situation. Moreover, it can remind kids to cover coughs and sneezes, to wash hands often, and so on. There is absolutely no need to inform parents about who has or doesn't have H1N1, any more than the school would inform parents about a specific person who has a cold, seasonal flu, or head lice.

Like seasonal flu, H1N1 has an incubation period. The teacher probably got exposed -- maybe at the mall, maybe on a bus, maybe from her own child, maybe from a student -- long before she showed any symptoms. She probably was infectious to others long before she showed any symptoms. Therefore, there's no point in blaming the teacher for coming to school sick. By the time she is well enough to stand up and teach for a day, she probably isn't even infectious any more.

Sharon

[BethanyB]

I hate to break it to you but I know a LOT of people who were not feeling well and had no idea they had the flu. My son had the flu but he got better before he got worse. I had no idea he had the flu until my Dr. gave him the test.

Many teachers come to work when they are not feeling totally themselves. I doubt this teacher came to school with a fever. She probably just came to work feeling a little sick. I highly doubt she would risk the students health knowing she had H1N1. As others have said, teachers don't get a lot of sick days. I only get ten per year and no vacation days as we have the summer off. So that means ten sick days for me and my two kids. I would never come to school with a fever, but I do go when I am not feeling up to par.

Trust that by the time a person (whether that be teacher or parent) knows they have the flu, they have already exposed everyone around them. And as the others said, SHE probably got it from one of the students. My Dr. said she is diagnosing about 6 to 7 cases of the flu a day.

So the best thing you can do is to encourage your child to wash their hands well and not share items like pencils or cups with their friends.

The actual H1N1 test takes 12 days for results. There are too many cases to even diagnose right now. They can't inform you of every single case of H1N1 in the school - especially if they don't know for sure that it is H1N1.

[akasohappy]

My son went to school on Friday with ZERO symptoms and he came home acting a little odd (more of a personality change than anything else) and by midnight Friday he had a low grade fever and we were at urgent care by Saturday afternoon and tested positive for flu. We totally infected God knows who by accident on Friday and possibly Thursday. I feel terrible, but seriously had NO idea.
He is fine and seems to have a mild case, but I am considering keeping him out all week as a precaution.
We have had a few cases in that classroom including a co-teacher so it doesn't suprise me.
I guess my point is that you are contagious before you even know it. I was more concerned about the kids having it than when the teacher had it because she is an adult and would practice better hygiene...know what I mean?

[luv2teach2]

If she wasn't tested for swine flu, I'm not sure how they can say they are 100% sure that is what it was. I also do not think that they need to legally let parents know if a teacher has swine due to confidentiality. Also, it really is like the flu and most likely no one will catch it from her.

[justgettingstarted]

my 2 year old was diagnosed on Friday with h1n1. His fever is pretty much gone today, but still has the cough and severe moodiness, so I know he still doesn't feel well. He normally goes to Grandma's when I go to work, but I don't know when he will not be contagious. Not sure what to do.

Any suggestions welcome.